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Minister Max Lucado – When You Find Yourself Wandering in the Wilderness · Max Lucado Daily Sermons

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: These two elderly couples really enjoyed spending time together, and
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: they were having a delightful evening at one of their houses,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: and the ladies were sitting indoors in the living room,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: and the guys were out on the patio. And one
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: fellow said to the other, said, hey, you and your
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: wife need to try this restaurant that we went to
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: last night. It is really good. And the other fellow said, well,
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  Speaker 1: what's the name of it? And the first guy said,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: you know, as I get older, I just forget things.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: I cannot remember. Maybe you can help me. What do
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  Speaker 1: you call that flower that has red petals on it
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  Speaker 1: and thorns on the stem? And the fellow said, Rose.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: And the first guy said, Yeah, that's it. And he
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  Speaker 1: yelled at his wife, Hey, Rose, honey, what's the name
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  Speaker 1: of that restaurant? Well, of all the things we... Shouldn't
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  Speaker 1: forget at the very top of that list is a
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  Speaker 1: promise about the presence of the Holy Spirit in the
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  Speaker 1: life of the believer. We're going to look at that promise.
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  Speaker 1: Before we do, let me just remind you, or if
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  Speaker 1: you're new to Oak Hills, welcome. And what we're doing
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  Speaker 1: is we're working through some promises, trying to build our
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  Speaker 1: lives on promises instead of the pain or problems of life.
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  Speaker 1: There's over 7,000 promises in the Bible. No way we
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  Speaker 1: can look at them all. But a sampling of those is,
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  Speaker 1: we hope enough to create a desire to know more.
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  Speaker 1: And each week we make a declaration. What we do
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: is we sit up straight. So if you can do that,
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  Speaker 1: we have sit up straight monitors who are watching. Put
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  Speaker 1: our shoulders back. Fill your lungs with air, your hearts
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  Speaker 1: with hope. Wake up anybody around you that's dozed off.
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  Speaker 1: And let's say it like we mean it. You ready?
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  Speaker 1: We are building our lives together. Our hope we do
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: not or we stand promises of God. Amen. Please forgive
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  Speaker 1: our speaker today. His sins are so many. Help us
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  Speaker 1: to see Christ. Just Christ. Through Christ we pray. And
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  Speaker 1: all the church said. Back when my legs were stronger
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  Speaker 1: and my ego was a little bit I'll let a
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  Speaker 1: friend talk me into entering a bike race. Pat McGrath
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  Speaker 1: attends our church. He's been in competitive biking since elementary school.
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  Speaker 1: And he and I used to bike together and he
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  Speaker 1: convinced me to be a part of a race in
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  Speaker 1: the hill country. Not just any race, but a race
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  Speaker 1: that includes an ascent. A one mile ascent, really actually
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  Speaker 1: it was a four mile ascent up a 12 degree
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  Speaker 1: gradient hill. In other words, it was a bring yourself
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  Speaker 1: up out of the saddle, pump, burn your thighs, run
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  Speaker 1: out of oxygen section of the race that for most
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  Speaker 1: of us would take about 10 or 15 minutes. It
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  Speaker 1: was appropriately called the killer diller. So we were a
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  Speaker 1: part of the Saturday race. The race began, and those
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  Speaker 1: bikers who really deserved to be there, like Pat, took off.
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  Speaker 1: Those of us barrel-bellied laggards were in the back. And
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  Speaker 1: for the first few minutes, we were making jokes about
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  Speaker 1: the intensity of the race, but soon we stopped making
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  Speaker 1: jokes because you have to have oxygen to talk. And
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  Speaker 1: we were running low, and we hadn't even reached the
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  Speaker 1: hill yet. And when we came to the hill, everything
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  Speaker 1: inside of me started to die. My legs were burning.
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  Speaker 1: I was running out of air. And I was having
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  Speaker 1: less than Christian thoughts about my friend, Pat McGrath. About
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  Speaker 1: a third of the way up the hill, though, I
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  Speaker 1: felt something in the lower, smaller portion of my back.
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  Speaker 1: I felt a hand pushing me.
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  Speaker 2: I really did.
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  Speaker 1: I felt a hand pushing me up the hill. And looked.
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  Speaker 1: And there was my friend, Pat. He had finished the race,
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  Speaker 1: remembered me, actually pedaled all the way back up at
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  Speaker 1: least a third, maybe halfway up the hill, dismounted from
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  Speaker 1: his bike, placed his bike on the side of the road,
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  Speaker 1: ran and caught up with me, which tells you how
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  Speaker 1: slowly I was pedaling. and he began to run, pushing
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  Speaker 1: me up the hill. He said, I told you you
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  Speaker 1: would finish this race, and I'm here to guarantee that
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  Speaker 1: you will do so. I'm wondering if you could use
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  Speaker 1: a push. Doesn't life sometimes feel like an uphill ride?
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  Speaker 1: And maybe you're running low, not on oxygen, but hope.
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  Speaker 1: Or friends. Or encouragement. Or maybe you are out of breath.
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  Speaker 1: If so I'm so happy you're here. Because I'm so
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  Speaker 1: happy to tell you. That you have a friend. And
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  Speaker 1: that friend has come along beside you. Indeed taking up
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  Speaker 1: residence within you. To give you a push. And that
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  Speaker 1: friend is named the Holy Spirit. Of God. His last
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  Speaker 1: words to his disciples before Jesus ascended into heaven included
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  Speaker 1: a promise of the Holy Spirit. He told them, and
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  Speaker 1: you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.
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  Speaker 1: The final words before Jesus ascended into heaven were somewhat
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  Speaker 1: of a transfer of the baton. Jesus was ascending and
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit was descending on Into the hearts of
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  Speaker 1: the followers. Jesus did not promise the disciples. That everything
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  Speaker 1: would be easy. He did not promise the absence from disease.
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  Speaker 1: He did not promise the guarantee. Of a certain level
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  Speaker 1: of income or popularity. But he did assure them. That
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit would give them power. And the Holy
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  Speaker 1: Spirit was the powerful force. Giving the New Testament church.
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  Speaker 1: The push to make change. The Holy Spirit continues on
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  Speaker 1: earth what the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, have begun.
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  Speaker 1: Though all three expressions of the Godhead are still active,
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  Speaker 1: it is in this final age under the purview of
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit that the church is empowered. And the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit lives today. granting power and strength and hope
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  Speaker 1: to all those who need it indeed he promises to
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  Speaker 1: give us a push let's use that word push as
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  Speaker 1: an acronym there's a short summary of what the holy
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  Speaker 1: spirit does in fact just a sampling there's no summary
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  Speaker 1: we don't know all the holy spirit does but just
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  Speaker 1: a sampling if you'd like to fill in the blanks
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  Speaker 1: let's get to work on those the holy spirit promises
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  Speaker 1: to power to the saint the holy spirit promises power
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  Speaker 1: to the saint of the many scriptures that help us
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  Speaker 1: understand the place and role of the holy spirit we
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  Speaker 1: could turn to the old testament book of job if
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  Speaker 1: god were to withdraw his spirit all life would disappear
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  Speaker 1: and mankind would return again to dust So really the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit is the animating force behind creation. Every unfolding
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  Speaker 1: flower is a fingerprint of God. But for Christians, even
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  Speaker 1: more important, the Holy Spirit is more than the animating
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  Speaker 1: force behind creation. The Holy Spirit is the midwife in
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  Speaker 1: the process of being born again or the new birth.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus told Nicodemus, very truly I tell you, no one
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  Speaker 1: can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born
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  Speaker 1: of the water and who? The Spirit. Flesh gives birth
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  Speaker 1: to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to Spirit. So
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  Speaker 1: you should not be surprised at my saying, you must
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  Speaker 1: be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You
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  Speaker 1: hear it sound, but you cannot tell where it comes
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  Speaker 1: from or where it's going. So it is with everyone
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  Speaker 1: born of the Spirit. So when you say yes to Christ,
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit says yes to you and takes up
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  Speaker 1: residence within your heart. The Holy Spirit enters and bringing
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  Speaker 1: with him, the Holy Spirit brings that animating power, convincing, guiding, strengthening,
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  Speaker 1: and assuring you that you're not alone in this journey.
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  Speaker 1: He enters us, according to Ephesians 1, 3, upon the
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  Speaker 1: confession of faith. And as he has his way within us,
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  Speaker 1: a wonderful transformation occurs. We become less and less like us,
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  Speaker 1: And we become more and more like God. He begins
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  Speaker 1: to help us think with the mind of Christ. To
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  Speaker 1: speak with the lips or the words of Christ. And
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  Speaker 1: even our heart displays the affection of Christ. So this
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  Speaker 1: is all the work of the Holy Spirit. Bringing about
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  Speaker 1: a regular increasing transformation of the saint. But the Holy
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  Speaker 1: Spirit is concerned not only about the faith. just with
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  Speaker 1: the individual saint. He is also, we're going to see,
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  Speaker 1: concerned with the spirit of the church, the unity of
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  Speaker 1: the church. And so we can say that the Holy
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  Speaker 1: Spirit promises to bring unity to the church. Unity really
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  Speaker 1: matters to God. A fractured and divisive church is a
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  Speaker 1: terrible testimony to the world that is already fractured and divisive, right?
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  Speaker 1: But when a fellowship of believers enjoys a spirit of unity,
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  Speaker 1: that's attractive. That appeals to the world and it bears
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  Speaker 1: witness to the unity of God. For that reason, the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit takes responsibility for creating unity in the church.
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  Speaker 1: Make every effort To keep the unity of the Spirit
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  Speaker 1: through the bond of peace. We're never told to create unity.
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  Speaker 1: Unity is already there. We just keep it. We acknowledge it.
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  Speaker 1: And we follow the work of the Holy Spirit. Harmony
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  Speaker 1: is always an option because harmony in the Holy Spirit
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  Speaker 1: is always present. And so we can no longer say,
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  Speaker 1: I just can't get along with so-and-so. Well, you can't,
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  Speaker 1: but the Holy Spirit can. And so we can begin
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  Speaker 1: to pray, Lord, help me to get along with so-and-so.
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  Speaker 1: Because the Holy Spirit promises unity in the church. Wherever
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  Speaker 1: there is unity in the church, the Holy Spirit receives
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  Speaker 1: all the glory. Wherever there is disunity in the church,
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  Speaker 1: we go to the Holy Spirit and we ask for
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  Speaker 1: help and for comfort. The Holy Spirit unifies the church.
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  Speaker 1: But also the Holy Spirit seals and supervises the church.
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  Speaker 1: The Holy Spirit invisibly yet indispensably serves as a rudder
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  Speaker 1: to the ship of your soul. He keeps you in
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  Speaker 1: the right direction and he keeps you from tipping over.
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  Speaker 1: Here's a wonderful promise. You were sealed in him with
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit of promise who is given as a
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  Speaker 1: pledge of our inheritance. I wonder if any of you
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  Speaker 1: have ever seen a mason jar. Have you? Do those
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  Speaker 1: still exist? My grandmother and my mother canned vegetables and
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  Speaker 1: jams and jelly. And I can remember in both of
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  Speaker 1: their kitchens, whenever they would fill the mason jars, they
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  Speaker 1: had these lids that they would twist and there was
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  Speaker 1: a rubberized seal. Does that sound familiar? Am I misspeaking, ladies?
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  Speaker 1: And if I just imagining it sound like there was
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  Speaker 1: even a kind of a pop and you knew they
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  Speaker 1: were whatever was in that jar was sealed and then
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  Speaker 1: they would store it and it would the contents would
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  Speaker 1: be protected. With that in mind, we can understand that
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit seals the soul of the believer. You
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  Speaker 1: are too valuable to be exposed to the onslaught of
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  Speaker 1: the devil. And he may tempt you and he may
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  Speaker 1: test you, but he cannot have you. He cannot have you.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes my heart is troubled because so many people think
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  Speaker 1: that they're going to lose their salvation. They think that
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  Speaker 1: they're in one day and out the next. Listen, you're
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  Speaker 1: not good enough to save yourself. You're not good enough
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  Speaker 1: to stay saved. And the same power that saved you
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  Speaker 1: initially is the power that preserves you eternally. You are
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  Speaker 1: sealed by the Holy Spirit He wraps himself around you
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  Speaker 1: with a protective presence that the interlopers from hell cannot breach.
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  Speaker 1: He has you in the palm of his hand. Some
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  Speaker 1: of you need to receive that promise right now. And
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  Speaker 1: this salvation is not contingent upon having the right emotions,
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  Speaker 1: really not contingent upon having the right actions. It's contingent
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  Speaker 1: upon placing your trust in Jesus Christ. And once that happens,
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  Speaker 1: this wonderful, wonderful gift happens. And that is you are sealed.
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  Speaker 1: The imprimatur of God is placed on you. And when
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  Speaker 1: the devil tries to get you, he cannot have you.
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  Speaker 1: For that reason, there are many promises in Scripture that
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  Speaker 1: bring us hope. Here's one, Ephesians 4 and verse 30. Remember,
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  Speaker 1: he is the one who has identified you as his own,
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  Speaker 1: guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: bless you, Holy Spirit, that you have sealed us and
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  Speaker 1: guaranteed that we will be saved on the day of redemption.
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  Speaker 1: Not only does the Holy Spirit seal us, the Holy
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  Speaker 1: Spirit supervises the church. The Holy Spirit is in charge
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  Speaker 1: of all the details of the church. I have a
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  Speaker 1: friend who supervises an apartment complex. One day I said,
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  Speaker 1: what does that mean? He said, well, I'm just in
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  Speaker 1: charge of everything. I keep the place running. Well, maybe
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  Speaker 1: we could say the same about the Holy Spirit. He
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  Speaker 1: keeps the place running. Here's a list of some of
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  Speaker 1: the jobs the Holy Spirit has. Comfort the bereaved. Guide
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  Speaker 1: the believer into all truth. Reveal the things that are
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  Speaker 1: still to come. Offer prayers of intercession. Bear witness that
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  Speaker 1: the saint is saved. Attest to the presence of God
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  Speaker 1: with signs and miracles. Create a God-like atmosphere of truth
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  Speaker 1: and wisdom and freedom. We could add to that the
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  Speaker 1: distribution of the gifts of the Spirit. His list of
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  Speaker 1: responsibility is wonderful, is varied, but maybe at the top
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  Speaker 1: of that list we should include the word holy. Holy,
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  Speaker 1: because the Holy Spirit makes us holy. He is about
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  Speaker 1: the task of sanctifying the saint, helping us resist temptation,
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  Speaker 1: remain pure, elevate our morality. He calls us to a
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  Speaker 1: level of holiness. But you were washed, you were sanctified,
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  Speaker 1: you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
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  Speaker 1: Christ by the Spirit of our God. Now, you know,
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  Speaker 1: my bicycle story had a wonderful ending. I actually did
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  Speaker 1: complete the race thanks to Pat's push. And I enjoyed
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  Speaker 1: the downhill ride. And I really enjoyed crossing the finish line,
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  Speaker 1: although I think I was dead last time. but I
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  Speaker 1: ended up with a good t-shirt and a sermon illustration.
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  Speaker 1: But what if I'd said no to Pat? What if
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  Speaker 1: when I felt him pushing me, I slapped his hand
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  Speaker 1: away and out of pride said, I can do this
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  Speaker 1: on my own. Well, many people do that to God.
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  Speaker 1: It is pride that keeps people from forgiveness and It
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  Speaker 1: is pride that keeps people from the power of the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. Pride drives people away from God. Don't be
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  Speaker 1: among those. You cannot make it on your own. You cannot.
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  Speaker 1: And God knows that. For that reason, he offers to
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  Speaker 1: save us, then indwell us and to change us more
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  Speaker 1: and more into his image. Or what if I had
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  Speaker 1: have turned to Pat as Pat was trying to push
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  Speaker 1: me up the hill and said, you know, Pat, I'm
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  Speaker 1: not worthy of your help. I'm not any good. I
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  Speaker 1: shouldn't have ever been a part of this race to
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  Speaker 1: begin with. Go find somebody who deserves to be pushed.
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  Speaker 1: Some people do that with God as well. They just say,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I'm not worthy. And maybe you believe that
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  Speaker 1: because all your life people have told you that. Listen,
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  Speaker 1: God thinks that you are special. He thinks that you
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  Speaker 1: are something special. And he calls you even the temple
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  Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit. He must really love you because
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  Speaker 1: he is willing to indwell you and change you. And
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  Speaker 1: it's the voice of the devil. In fact, we stand
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  Speaker 1: against the devil today and tell him he cannot have you.
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  Speaker 1: And so you stand against that thought. God wants to
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  Speaker 1: empower you and change you and use you to be
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  Speaker 1: salt and light all over the earth. It simply falls
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  Speaker 1: to us to cooperate, to receive this promise and then
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  Speaker 1: cooperate with this promise. Well, how do we do that? Well,
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  Speaker 1: I think simply we try to walk in step with
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit. That's what the Apostle Paul said. We walk
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  Speaker 1: in step with the Spirit. We keep in step with
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit. Did you guys know I played the tuba
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  Speaker 1: in the high school marching band? I'm just full of surprises,
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  Speaker 1: aren't I? I was a tuba player for a couple
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  Speaker 1: of years. And so my freshman and sophomore year in
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  Speaker 1: high school, I was in the marching band. And every
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  Speaker 1: marching band has a drum major. And those of us
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  Speaker 1: who have been in a band know that it's not
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  Speaker 1: up to us to set the rhythm. It's up to
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  Speaker 1: us to follow the pace of the drum major. That's
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  Speaker 1: what the Holy Spirit is. He leads the church like
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  Speaker 1: a marching, like a drum major would lead a marching band.
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  Speaker 1: He leads us. We keep in step with the Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: He sets the pace and we do our best to
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  Speaker 1: stay in step. Say, Max, that's easier said than done.
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  Speaker 1: It sounds kind of mysterious to me. How do you
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  Speaker 1: do that? I think the most practical answer to that
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  Speaker 1: question that I have ever heard has to do with
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  Speaker 1: the list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. You
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  Speaker 1: remember this list? The fruit of the Spirit is love
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  Speaker 1: and joy and peace and patience. and kindness and goodness
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  Speaker 1: and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. So we know that
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit is within us when we are showing
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  Speaker 1: fruitfulness in these categories. So if on a given day
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  Speaker 1: you feel no fruit within when it comes to love
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  Speaker 1: or joy or peace or patience or kindness or goodness
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  Speaker 1: or you feel none of those fruits well guess what
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  Speaker 1: guess who's out of step with the spirit you are
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  Speaker 1: but on the days that you feel this sense of
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  Speaker 1: can we use the word supernatural inexplicable illogical love joy
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  Speaker 1: peace patience kindness goodness self-control well then you can honestly
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  Speaker 1: say oh my goodness That's the presence and the power
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  Speaker 1: of the Holy Spirit inside me. And I can be
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  Speaker 1: grateful for that. So this week, let the fruits of
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit be like indicators on the dashboard of a car.
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  Speaker 1: And when you see them, you know that the tank
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  Speaker 1: is full. But when you see the needle is on
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  Speaker 1: E on any of those fruits, then just turn to
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit and say, Lord, I need more patience.
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  Speaker 1: I know it's your desire that I have love. I
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  Speaker 1: know it's your will that I have joy. So I
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  Speaker 1: turn to you now, Father, and I want to stay
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  Speaker 1: in step with you, Holy Spirit, and make it your
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  Speaker 1: aim to live a life of unending conversation with the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit. Everywhere you go, no matter what you do,
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  Speaker 1: at work, at school, at home, make it your aim
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  Speaker 1: to live in communion with the Holy Spirit. And then
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  Speaker 1: when you feel the nudge or the direction of the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit coming be quick to obey be quick to
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  Speaker 1: obey i'd like to share an example of how the
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  Speaker 1: holy spirit led me to do something recently not at
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  Speaker 1: all wanting to leave the impression that i always obey
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  Speaker 1: the holy spirit because i want to do it do
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  Speaker 1: more so but on the occasion the occasion that i
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  Speaker 1: did it was so fulfilling Some weeks ago, I stepped
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  Speaker 1: into a convenience store. The convenience store I step into
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: quite often to buy a cup of coffee and a
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: breakfast taco. I'm a health food fanatic, right? And so
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: I ran into a friend, a friend that I see
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: there quite often, just a delightful guy. He always has
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: a joke. He always has a smile, always something nice
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: to say. But that day he had none of those.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: And I wondered why. Paid for my coffee and my
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: breakfast taco though i didn't say anything else to him
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: and as i was stepping back to the car i
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: sensed the holy spirit tell me turn around and go
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: back and talk to him now you need to know
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: the context a couple of things were going on one
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: this was a few weeks back when all of the
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: news was about immigration about a federal border policy that
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: was being implemented And it was everywhere. It was on
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: the radio. It was on television. It was even in
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: the newspaper that day. So it was on my mind.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: And I don't know how I know this or how
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: I knew this, but I had a strong suspicion that
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: this fellow's wife was undocumented. It seems to me that
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: my wife knew and she told me, but I honestly
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: don't know how I knew. But so all of that
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: kind of came together in the parking lot. I had
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: my coffee I had my breakfast taco I was ready
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: to get in the car and go to the office
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: but then I thought of my friend the idea of
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: his wife being undocumented and then all this controversy or
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: this stress about documentation and immigration and so the Holy
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Spirit in what's a good word pressed on me pressed
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: on me to go back in and talk to him
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: I really didn't want to I didn't know what I
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: would say to him I really wanted to get to work,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: but the Holy Spirit did not ask my opinion. It
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: was that strong of an impression. And so I put
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: the coffee in the breakfast taco in the car, but
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: I didn't get in the car. I went back in
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: the store and he was still there. And I found him.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: I walked up to him and he was surprised to
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: see me. And I said, I said, I'm wondering all
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: this stuff about immigration. Are you and your wife okay?
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: And just like that, his eyes filled with tears. Just
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: like that. And he looked to the right and to
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: the left like he was concerned somebody might be listening in.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: And I said, what's going on? And he said, well,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: he said, my wife does not have the necessary documentation.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: He said, but we've been working on it. If I recall,
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: he said for. two years, maybe it was just a year,
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: but for a long time, he said, we've been working
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: on it. He said, we got scammed by a lawyer
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: and it exhausted all our savings. And now all this
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: is going on. And one of our neighbors told my wife,
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: if she ever stepped out of the house, somebody was
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: going to pick her up and take her back across
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: the border. And she is frightened and she hasn't been
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: out of the house in days. Well, I just happened
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: to know somebody who knew somebody. I don't really run
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: in those circles, but I did. I knew somebody who
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: specialized in that. And I said, oh, yeah, I know
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: why you laughed. No, it wasn't that at all. I
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: happen to know an attorney who knew somebody. I don't
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: run in the Underground Railroad here. No, I happen to
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: know somebody who could legitimately, honestly, legally provide assistance. Good
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: clarification there. A little embarrassed. And so I did. I
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: made a call that day and I put this friend
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: of mine that I'd seen in the convenience store in
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: touch with this lawyer. And this lawyer said, I can
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: help with that. And the lawyer not only helped with that,
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: but helped at a very affordable rate. And you know, within,
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: I guess, a week or two weeks, the problem was solved.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: It was solved. And I thought, isn't that, is that
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: how the Holy Spirit works? Is that how the Holy
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Spirit works? You know, that I didn't ask this friend,
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: have you been praying about this? But I have a
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: feeling he had. I got to believe his wife was.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: And could it be that the Holy Spirit hears the
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: prayers of honest, God-fearing people and then sees somebody, equips
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: him with the ability to meet that need, brings the
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: two together, and then he has to get behind us
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: and give us that, what was the word? That push,
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: that push. I'm praying this week that all of us
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: can be sensitive to the push of the Holy Spirit.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Wouldn't it be wonderful if Oak Hills just released into
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: the city, into the hill country and beyond. A body
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: of people who indwelt by the Holy Spirit were being
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: used by the Holy Spirit to bring hope, to bring encouragement,
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: to bring answers, to bring solutions. So this week, when
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: you sense that push to forgive somebody, to encourage somebody,
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: to write a letter, to write a check, when you
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: sense that push, May the Lord allow you to be
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: obedient to it. And may you stand on this promise,
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: this great and precious promise, that you shall receive power
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Amen? Thank you, Lord,
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: for the promise of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name. And all the church said, Amen.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: So so.
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: Bye.
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 31:28
  Speaker 3: You don't have.
• 31:29
  Speaker 4: To be mean.
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: You don't have to stay close.
• 32:02
  Speaker 4: As long as you're somewhere out there, that's enough for me.
• 32:12
  Speaker 4: I don't need to hold you near me Don't need
• 32:16
  Speaker 4: promises to keep Just the thought that you are breathing
• 32:21
  Speaker 4: Somewhere in this world I see Even if I'm not
• 32:26
  Speaker 4: beside you Even if you never know There's a quiet
• 32:33
  Speaker 4: kind of comfort just in knowing you still glow I
• 32:40
  Speaker 4: don't need forever I just need you to exist.
• 32:50
  Speaker 2: You don't have to stay with me You don't have.
• 32:54
  Speaker 3: To feel the same Just as long as you're still
• 33:00
  Speaker 3: out there Calling softly through my days.
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: You don't have to look my way.
• 33:07
  Speaker 4: You don't have to be my home It's enough to
• 33:12
  Speaker 4: know you're living In a world I'm not alone I
• 33:21
  Speaker 4: won't chase you through the.
• 33:22
  Speaker 3: Distance Won't disturb your chosen life.
• 33:27
  Speaker 4: I'll just keep you in my silence like a star
• 33:31
  Speaker 4: that shines at night. Through the dark and through the blue.
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: I still think of you. You don't have to be
• 33:51
  Speaker 3: my home. It's enough to know you're living in a world.
• 33:56
  Speaker 4: I'm not alone. I don't need to be your light
• 34:31
  Speaker 4: I don't need to cross your mind All I need
• 34:34
  Speaker 4: is just the truth That you're somewhere.
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: Still alive Still alive.
• 34:43
  Speaker 2: You don't have to stay with me You don't have
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: to feel the same Just as long as you're still
• 34:53
  Speaker 2: out there Calling softly through my days You don't have
• 34:58
  Speaker 2: to look my way You don't have to be my
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: home It's enough to.
• 35:05
  Speaker 4: Know you're living
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: In a world I'm not alone